Do you enjoy man-bites-dog stories? We’ve got a good one for you! Nick Norwitz has a bachelor’s degree in cellular biology from Dartmouth. He received his PhD from Oxford University in 2020 in neurodegenerative disease and metabolism. He is currently a medical student at Harvard Medical School. Nick just performed an amazing egg experiment! Dr. Norwitz ate 720 eggs in one month. The results will astound you.
First, a Little History About Eggs and Cholesterol:
For six decades Americans have been told that cholesterol causes heart disease. That’s why nutrition experts, cardiologists and other health care providers advised their patients to limit egg consumption. It’s also why statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs have been billion-dollar bonanzas for the pharmaceutical industry.
Let’s be candid about the dietary recommendations. Back then there never was an egg experiment that proved eggs raised cholesterol. There never was an egg experiment to prove that eating eggs caused heart attacks. Nevertheless, the guardians of public health believed that eating cholesterol would be bad for Americans and they condemned it.
To this day, many people still think of eggs as a sinful indulgence. Ditto for saturated fat. The dairy counter is filled with low-fat or no-fat yogurt, skim milk and cheese substitutes. And a lot of health professionals still tell people to ration foods containing cholesterol. After all, beliefs die hard. The American Heart Association wants everyone to shun dairy fat. More about that shortly.
The Dr. Nick Norwitz Egg Experiment:
Dr. Norwitz performed his egg experiment on himself. He ate 24 eggs a day (two cartons of eggs) for 30 days. That is a total of 720 eggs!
How much cholesterol was that? According to Dr. Nick, it is 133,200 mg of cholesterol! He hypothesized that this huge amount of dietary cholesterol would not increase his total cholesterol. In particular, he speculated that it would not increase his “bad” LDL cholesterol.
That alone is a man bites dog story…but wait! It get’s better. During the first two weeks of the experiment, Nick’s LDL cholesterol dropped a bit (2%). But during the last two weeks of the experiment, Dr. Norwitz saw his LDL cholesterol drop an additional 18%. That defies the old wisdom that eating cholesterol should raise LDL cholesterol in the body.
Why Doesn’t Dietary Cholesterol Increase Serum Cholesterol?
Instead of reading my review and explanation of Dr. Norwitz’s egg experiment, why not let Nick tell you himself? Here is his YouTube video describing what he did, what happened and why.
One important caveat! Dr. Nick Norwitz is a proponent of a low-carb ketogenic diet. Because he follows this diet himself, he notes that LDL cholesterol rises on such a program. His high-cholesterol egg experiment led to a dramatic drop in LDL cholesterol in large measure because his keto diet had already raised his LDL levels prior to the egg experiment.
Dr. Nick Norwitz Compares Oreo Cookies to Statins!
If you thought Nick’s egg experiment was intriguing, wait till you see his Oreo Cookie Experiment. Which would you predict would work better to lower LDL cholesterol? Oreos or rosuvastatin (Crestor)?
To be honest, I would have bet on rosuvastatin. I would have lost that bet, though. Dr. Nick Norwitz consumed 12 Oreo cookies a day for 16 days. This approach lowered his LDL cholesterol from 383 to 111 mg/dL. That is a 71% reduction in bad LDL cholesterol after eating way too many Oreo cookies.
Then, after a washout period, Dr. Nick started taking 20 mg of rosuvastatin. At the start of this phase of the experiment his LDL cholesterol was 421. Remember, he was on a pretty strict ketogenic diet, which raises LDL cholesterol. After 6 weeks of statin, his LDL cholesterol had decreased to 284 mg/dL. That was a 32.5% reduction. In other words, Oreo cookies were twice as potent as rosuvastatin at lowering LDL cholesterol.
Please do not take my word for Dr. Norwitz’s Oreo experiment. Here is his video.
Another caveat! Do not try to replicate his experiment at home. Such an experiment is not healthy. Dr. Nick admits that Oreos are not health food! This was an experiment to demonstrate something quite fascinating. But you should let Dr. Nick Norwitz explain that himself.
Dr. Nick’s Egg Study Was NOT the First Egg Experiment! The Finnish Heart Study:
A study from Finland put a nail in the cholesterol coffin (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online, Feb. 10, 2016).
The researchers in Kuopio followed more than 1000 healthy middle-aged men for over 20 years. At the beginning of the study in the 1980s the men filled out detailed records of their eating habits.
After analyzing the decades-long data, the investigators found no connection between egg consumption and heart disease. There was also no link between cholesterol in the diet and atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries.
The Finnish Heart Study included a group of high-risk patients. Approximately one third of these men carried a gene called ApoE4 that predisposes them to both heart disease and Alzheimer’s. In other words, these highly susceptible individuals were a little like canaries in the coal mine. As much as an egg a day or moderate-to-high cholesterol consumption did not appear to increase the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke among these men.
Could Eating Eggs Actually Be Healthy?
Even more surprising, there are studies suggesting that people who eat more eggs have larger, less dense artery-clogging LDL cholesterol particles (Metabolism, March, 2013). Such “fluffy” particles are less likely to contribute to arterial plaque. Other research demonstrates that egg consumption raises good HDL cholesterol, lowers inflammation and improves blood sugar control (Lipids, June, 2013).
Diet Dictocrats Beginning to Change Course:
It takes the nutrition establishment a long time to reconsider long-established policies. That’s because “experts” hate to look foolish and appear to flip flop on long-held beliefs and recommendations.
But American policy makers are finally beginning to catch up with the science. After years of strict prohibitions on high-cholesterol foods, especially eggs, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans issued in 2015 no longer limit cholesterol intake to 300 mg/day (one egg contains 180 mg of cholesterol). They did recommend, however, that “individuals should eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible…”
It’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks. Many health professionals will find it challenging to accept the data from the Finnish Heart Study. But the writing has been on the wall for quite a few years that the evidence supporting dietary cholesterol as the culprit behind heart disease was weak.
What About Saturated Fat?
Despite the reversal on eggs and dietary cholesterol, saturated fat remains forbidden. The cardiology community is still convinced that this fat will clog arteries and the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines frown upon “sat fat.”
A Canadian meta-analysis (BMJ, online, Aug. 12, 2015) analyzed the data on saturated fat intake and its relationship to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and death.
The investigators found:
“In this synthesis of observational evidence we found no clear association between higher intake of saturated fats and all cause mortality, CHD [coronary heart disease], CHD mortality, ischemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes among apparently healthy adults.”
Conversely, trans fats that were found in margarine and so many so-called heart-healthy foods produced decidedly disastrous results:
“Consumption of trans unsaturated fatty acids, however, was associated with a 34% increase in all cause mortality, a 28% increased risk of CHD mortality, and a 21% increase in the risk of CHD.”
So, the very foods we were told to eat for decades to protect our hearts were actually causing coronary heart disease. Read more at this link:
Are Full-Fat Milk and Cheese Really Risky?
The Dutch Drive the Nail Deeper:
As if the Canadian analysis weren’t enough, there was the Netherlands Cohort study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Feb., 2016). Over 35,000 Dutch men and women were recruited between 1993 and 1997 and followed for 12 years.
The more saturated fat these people consumed, especially from dairy products, the less coronary artery disease they experienced. Highly processed carbohydrates found in bread, pizza, pasta, cookies and cakes were linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
You can read our overview on this topic in the following article:
Has the Flip-Flop on Saturated Fat Made Your Head Spin?
In other words, the advice we have all been given for the last 60+ years has been turned upside down.
To learn more about this controversy and the other risk factors that may play an important role in heart disease, you may wish to read our eGuide to Cholesterol Control & Heart Health. This online resource can be found under the Health eGuides tab.
If you have not taken a few minutes to watch Dr. Nick Norwitz’s Egg Experiment, here is your last chance. We think you will find it amusing if not enlightening. And if you would like to read his study about Oreo cookies, here is a link to the rather technical article in the journal Metabolites, Jan. 22, 2024.
Final Words:
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